Scientific Principles of Training

As a kinesiology (sport science) student in university I am interested in developing a martial art (in my case Shotokan karate) training program that is based on sound science i.e. peer reviewed journal article findings. This would include biomechanical analysis of movement, measurement of physiological parameters, psychological skills training, nutrition, injury prevention etc.

As part of a term paper I did quite a bit of research on the topic and created such a training program. I must say that the toughest part was finding scientific papers on karate; there are a very limited number of these. Furthermore I would like to expand on this paper and create a program of high quality.

I would be interested to hear about people’s thoughts on the idea and would be glad if anyone could provide some insight into putting together such a project. I would be very pleased to collaborate and share information with all those interested by the project.

I must say that the toughest part was finding scientific papers on karate; there are a very limited number of these.

This is a very interesting idea and I’m surprised you were able to find any scientific papers on karate. While some elements lend themselves nicely to the scientific method (i.e. biomechanical analysis of movement) it’s not so easy to do that with actual combative performance. What I mean is that it’s hard to isolate the variables, attain repeatability and develop effective measures in the same way you can with running, jumping, throwing, etc.

Martial arts in general lacks “putting the theory to the test” and then adapting training as a result. However, to get consistent data that is repeatable and hence subject to scientific peer review is a challenge.

No doubt that some of the elements that contribute to good performance can be better isolated though i.e. speed, power, endurance, flexibility, nutrition, etc. While there may not be any karate specific studies in this regard, there is sure to be plenty of applicable data and studies from other sports where funding is higher. Have you looked at existing scientific studies that may be relevant to the attributes a karateka needs?

Michael Stolberg wrote:

I would be very pleased to collaborate and share information with all those interested by the project.

Have you tired contacting the various governing bodies? They may know of people already involved or may be interested in supporting your work in other ways if you are prepared to share the findings with them. The martial arts are very popular so there may be fellow university students looking to do something similar. Not sure how you’d broadcast your intention through the universities for people interested in collaborating though? Maybe that’s something the larger governing bodies could help with too? Could anyone here help?

It’s a very interesting idea this Michael and I’m sure we’d all be interested in knowing more as things develop.

Contact Randy or Bob at http://tkriblog.wordpress.com/ they are good buggers and have heaps on this subject on their site. Charles Staley's book 'The Science of Martial Arts training is also a good starting point.

This is a very interesting idea and I’m surprised you were able to find any scientific papers on karate. While some elements lend themselves nicely to the scientific method (i.e. biomechanical analysis of movement) it’s not so easy to do that with actual combative performance. What I mean is that it’s hard to isolate the variables, attain repeatability and develop effective measures in the same way you can with running, jumping, throwing, etc.

I agree that it is a much more challenging task to isolate variables as well as quantify and qualify combative performances when compared to running or jumping. This is because running and jumping are closed skills i.e. they can be practiced before hand and identically reproduced during competitions. Combative performances are open skills which involve much cognitive work on top of the high degree of motor skills needed. Nevertheless I believe that this is no different from football or basketball where a range of skills and tactics need to be employed in order to ensure success. Consequently analyzing team sports is also a very complex task. However these sports are still analyzed in such a manner.

Iain Abernethy wrote:

No doubt that some of the elements that contribute to good performance can be better isolated though i.e. speed, power, endurance, flexibility, nutrition, etc. While there may not be any karate specific studies in this regard, there is sure to be plenty of applicable data and studies from other sports where funding is higher. Have you looked at existing scientific studies that may be relevant to the attributes a karateka needs?

This is exactly what i ended up doing due to the lack of karate specific information. However i firmly belive that though karate can adapt training methods from other sports it is still important to understand the specific demands of karate and then develop specific training for it. This is where scientific research would come in handy. Yes football, basketball, hockey and karate practitioner need to develop agility. Nevertheless this very agility manifests itself quite differently in each of those perfromances.

Iain Abernethy wrote:

Have you tired contacting the various governing bodies? They may know of people already involved or may be interested in supporting your work in other ways if you are prepared to share the findings with them. The martial arts are very popular so there may be fellow university students looking to do something similar. Not sure how you’d broadcast your intention through the universities for people interested in collaborating though? Maybe that’s something the larger governing bodies could help with too? Could anyone here help?

Thank you for the idea. I will contact the sport governing bodies. In terms of karate I belive that the WKF-Canada would be the one with most ressources.

Contact Randy or Bob at http://tkriblog.wordpress.com/ they are good buggers and have heaps on this subject on their site. Charles Staley's book 'The Science of Martial Arts training is also a good starting point.

I did look at the website and it does have some interesting information. The book looks good as well.

Thank you for the suggestions.

I will inform myself some more and try to update this topic with (hopeful) more concrete propositions)

Consequently analyzing team sports is also a very complex task. However these sports are still analyzed in such a manner.

Absolutely. I hope what I wrote did not come across as suggesting that a scientific look of karate was impossible? I was simply saying that it’s more difficult than sprinting, weight lifting, etc.

Michael Stolberg wrote:

This is exactly what I ended up doing due to the lack of karate specific information. However I firmly believe that though karate can adapt training methods from other sports it is still important to understand the specific demands of karate and then develop specific training for it.

Agreed. I was looking at various papers on flexibility training a year or so ago and the lack of specificity to karate was always problematic when looking at the findings.

Michael Stolberg wrote:

Thank you for the idea. I will contact the sport governing bodies. In terms of karate I believe that the WKF-Canada would be the one with most resources.

As a WKF body, they may also have links to work being done in other nations?

Not sure if you are still pursuing this subject, but you might what to get in touch with a guy called Sean Roberts.

I believe Sean is currently studying for a Phd in Biomechanics... He may be interested in what you are doing. I think he still studies under Akio Minakami in Hawaii; unfortunately I don't have any further details to give...

Adding and using science in martial arts is certainly nothing new. From Choi to Kimura, they've all done well to explain the physics behind techniques or to champion their way. As JWT indicates psychology and physiology are now a big part of RBSD these days. I have a book from the '80s called "Unmasking the Martial Artist", which isn't the greatest or most scientific of reads on the psychology side of things. However, it does start with a chapter measuring reaction times and speed of karateka.

I feel the big issue is getting martial artists to conform to the scientific method and the rest of it will come. This means creating experiments that follow the set scientific criteria that can be peer reviewed in an academic journal. Unfortunately because this system is not commonplace in the martial arts world it is left wide open for all sorts of fads, mystical nonsense and pyschomythology.